January 2017 Cover to Cover
You Are Invited to This Conversation on Another Hot Topic — The President’s Daily Intelligence Brief
Thursday, January 19 – 1:00-1:30 CT
The President’s Book of Secrets: Untold Story of Intelligence Briefings to America’s Presidents from Kennedy to Obama
David Priess
Every day, the President receives a report revealing the most sensitive intelligence and analysis of world events: the President’s Daily Brief, or PDB. As has been widely reported, President-elect Trump has largely rebuffed intelligence briefers since his election win.
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Cover to Cover
Cover to Cover is a monthly program featuring the most influential authors on subjects of national and international importance.
Offered as a benefit to all current World Affairs Councils of America (WACA) Member Councils, Cover to Cover conference calls are opportunities for Council leaders, members, and supporters to engage with esteemed authors on critical issues. Cover to Cover authors often welcome invitations to speak at Councils. In short, the WACA National Office covers a topic with an expert so that Councils may discover a speaker and cover the topic in even greater depth in their own communities, spearheading a national conversation.
January 2017 Cover to Cover
Every president has had a unique and complicated relationship with the intelligence community. While some have been coolly distant, even adversarial, others have found their intelligence agencies to be among the most valuable instruments of policy and power.
Since John F. Kennedy’s presidency, this relationship has been distilled into a personalized daily report: a short summary of what the intelligence apparatus considers the most crucial information for the president to know that day about global threats and opportunities. This top–secret document is known as the President’s Daily Brief, or, within national security circles, simply “the Book.” Presidents have spent anywhere from a few moments (Richard Nixon) to a healthy part of their day (George W. Bush) consumed by its contents; some (Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush) consider it far and away the most important document they saw on a regular basis while commander in chief.
The details of most PDBs are highly classified, and will remain so for many years. But the process by which the intelligence community develops and presents the Book is a fascinating look into the operation of power at the highest levels. David Priess, a former intelligence officer and daily briefer, has interviewed every living president and vice president as well as more than one hundred others intimately involved with the production and delivery of the president’s book of secrets. He offers an unprecedented window into the decision making of every president from Kennedy to Obama, with many character–rich stories revealed here for the first time.
About the Author
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